Let us pray on this holy day (this coming Sunday) as we end the Easter Season and celebrate the Holy Spirit and the Birthday of the Church!
Today does not look like other Pentecosts for many of us. Wherever we are celebrating this Pentecost, we know you are with us, Holy One. We ask that you pour out your Holy Spirit upon us like that first Pentecost. Revive us as we are so weary. Inspire us so we may live out our faith in new ways. Strengthen us for the coming days. God, we celebrate today as the birthday of your church. Whether we gather as your church virtually or physically, we are your church. Remind us today that we are your beloved children who you have called to do your work in this your world. We have heard your call and answered with the help of the Holy Spirit. Revive us. Inspire us. Strengthen us. Amen.
This tea is part of an awesomely beautiful and tasty tea gift set I was given by a dear friend.
The Honey Lapsang is described as “Organic Black Tea with Cinnamon, Cocoa, Licorice, and Lapsang”. It is delicious. I would describe it as a smooth black tea which leaves you with a good smokey taste on your tongue. I have been enjoying this fun tea to start my mornings this week. And I am enjoying the other teas in this gift set too.
When I left St. Giles Presbyterian Church over 5.5 years ago, I sorted through seven years of ministry in one place and narrowed it down to a few boxes of paper and many boxes of books. I am focusing today on the paper and not how many books I still have…although truth be told the number has decreased significantly. In the one of the boxes of files, I found calendars from each year I served a church. These calendars are made by the denomination and leave more room on Sundays as that is the busy day of the week in the church.
I took the calendars out of the box and sorted through the papers first. Most of the paper is being recycled as it is no longer something I need. The calendars stayed in their pile. Should I keep them? Why should I keep them? I opened the first one from 2004, and I was not prepared for the flood of emotions that came to me. I read of meetings with people I have not seen in years. I saw notes about preaching dates and education opportunities. I saw the way I used to write the letter R in the corner as a reminder for the weeks my then boyfriend was working. I saw notes about plays and sporting events and parties I attended for the youth who were a major part of my ministry. As I turned the pages, I got married, moved to a new state and church, bought a house, said good-bye to my best friend, watched my husband graduate, said good-bye to family members while welcoming others to the family. So many memories in these pages.
And then I was even more torn. Now that I know what is in those pages, do I keep them? Or is this blog post enough of a memory? Or better still should I hold on to the memories in my heart that have dulled the hurts over time and brightened the good moments?
Writing this has given me the courage to say good-bye to these calendars. I am thankful for these years of ministry and all that I experienced. I am thankful for the mentors and the supportive ones who guided me. I am working on being thankful for those who challenged me and made my work harder than it needed to be. I am thankful for the children and youth who are no longer children and youth and love hearing about the amazing adults they are. I am thankful for all those who volunteered countless hours to ensure each person who came through the doors knew they were loved. I am thankful for the ways I was welcomed into homes and lives of so many faithful people. And I ask forgiveness for the mistakes I made and the hurts I caused. My prayer is that all whose names are listed in those calendars and all who ministered along side me will know God’s peace and love today.
I shared this reflection with staff and volunteers from Coastal Hospice last week.
As we begin, I invite you to grab a pen and paper if you are somewhere safe to write things down. If you are driving, please be careful and do not attempt to write anything down when we reach this part of our time together. Our lives have been turned inside out and upside down this year. What once was routine or normal is now no longer the way it is done. I do not need to tell you any of this as you are living it. And yet, sometimes it is helpful to say out loud what is happening in our lives. “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God” Isaiah 40:1. What brings you comfort in these challenging times? Before you leap to answer that question, let me share a definition of comfort which is “a pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain.” Now, I invite you to make a list for yourself of what brings you comfort. We’ll have a time of silence as we write our list. (Silence). I shared that I find comfort in a hot cup of tea. I take the mug in both hands and bring it close to my face. I feel the warmth and smells calm me.
I hope you will take the time to do that which comforts you in the coming days, and maybe share your list with others so together we can comfort each other. Please reach out to others when what has always been comforting is no longer working for you. Let us pray- Loving God, Comfort us! Hear us! Continue to love us! We need you today! We need each other today! Bless the work that we do and give us the strength to carry on. Amen.
This cup makes me smile each time I read the words, “She listened to her soul.”
On a beautiful winter day, I shared a tea date with one of my tea drinking friends. It was on that day I first enjoyed Eastern Shore Tea Company’s Black Raven Tea. It was delicious tea with delightful company.
Black Raven Tea is a strong black tea with black currant flavoring. It is a great cup of tea to wake you on a Monday or a rainy morning. I would recommend it on a regular day as well. So, I am looking forward to ordering some more of this tea as I highly enjoy it and cannot wait to drink some more of it!
To provide extra support to the employees and volunteers of my hospice, the Spiritual Counselors are leading a brief call each morning. During the call, we have time for talking together and checking in, an inspirational thought or quote, and a prayer. I led our call last week and share the following.
I read the first two verses of “Hymn of Promise” which you can enjoy here. And then I offered this prayer.
Prayer-In this time of great uncertainty, we are reaching out to you, Holy One. Hear us as we ask for wisdom when life does not make sense. Hear us as we cry out when our hearts are breaking. Hear us when we laugh with pure joy at the beauty of life. As we keep physically distant from each other, do not be distant from us, Loving One, as we were built for connections. Bless us as we do our work this day and remind us that we are never alone. Amen.
My hope is that these words bring you peace on your journey today!
However you celebrated Easter Sunday, I am guessing it didn’t look like a typical Easter Sunday for you. Here’s a bit of good news. Easter is not over. While we may not be gathering to celebrate in person, the resurrection has happened and is happening. Signs of rebirth and renewal are all around even amid the sadness.
This Easter Season I encourage to you to notice and name the places and times you see resurrection, renewal, new energy, goodness at work in the world. Look for tiny Easters all around and you will see them.
God of Big Surprises and Ordinary Days, walk with us through this Easter Season. Open us to see you in each other and your creation. Remind us of your promises while surprising us as we experience new things. Our lives are not what we expected, Holy One, and we ask that you use us in this time to share your love with others. No matter what tomorrow brings, we will trust in you and give thanks. We know you are making all things new, and so we will wait and be ready. In the name of Jesus who lived and died and lives with you, we pray. Amen!
Holy Week has long been one of my favorite weeks of the year. As a pastor, I loved gathering at the table with the congregation on this Holy Thursday. I was reluctant to write a prayer for today as this day will not include gathering around the communion tables at our churches. And then I realized I need this prayer because things are different. I need a reminder that Jesus will be there at all our tables dining with us no matter where we are. So wherever this Maundy Thursday finds you know that you are not alone because Jesus is with you and we are all together in spirit as we join in this sacrament at our own tables.
Loving God, Eveything feels different today. We aren’t in our churches or Fellowship Hall gathered around the communion table ready to hear the familiar words and taste the bread and drink from the cup. We miss that time to gather. We miss that sacred time to be together. We miss being called to come to your table.
And yet, maybe this unique Thursday is another opportunity to meet Jesus. We can meet him at our tables for one or two or three or twelve. We can meet him in our homes with whatever food and drinks makes up tonight’s communion.
So we ask your blessing on this food and drink that it may be for us the body and the blood of Jesus. We ask your blessing on us that we may be Jesus for each of us and for those in need.
We come to our tables asking for forgiveness for those who we have wronged. We come to our tables with hearts heavy for those we will not see tonight-send your healing to all who are ill. Send your spirit of peace for all who are weary. Send your love to all who are lonely. Come, Holy Spirit, come and be with us tonight.
In remembrance of you and your love for us, Jesus, we gather around our tables tonight praying for the time when we can gather together again. Hear our prayer, Gracious God. Hear our prayer. Amen.
Before this Lenten Season started, I planned to write a prayer each week of Lent and then special prayers for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Things in the USA are so odd that it seems wrong to write these words and pretend that we can or will celebrate as we usually do. And yet, we know that Easter will come without a full church and lilies and children searching for eggs and choirs singing their long practiced anthems and sunrise services and all the other traditions that make Easter so special. Easter will come as it came the first time…quietly and without fanfare. It is hard to prepare ourselves for that when that doesn’t sound like the Easters we have known. I am thinking of all who are currently serving churches. They are helping their congregations to do church in new ways and trying new things to meet the needs of those they serve. Keep them all in your prayers.
So where are you finding hope in these uncertain times? I’ll share with you what I am doing and also admit that it doesn’t always work. I have moments of fear and dread for those I love, for the work I love that I am doing in a new way, and for people around the world that I do not know and God has called me to love them anyway.
-Put down my phone. Shut off the tv news. The amount of information to which we have access is amazing and overwhelming. I am working on staying informed by checking the news in the morning and in the evening. I enjoy seeing what friends and family are doing on Facebook and also find it upsetting with all the news that is shared there, so sometimes I use my phone as a phone and call someone. Limit the information you view in a way that works for you.
-Spread Hope and Joy. I love getting mail, so I decided last week to start sending mail more regularly. Each day I am writing a card/note and sending it to someone. This daily ritual is bringing me hope and joy as I think of this special someone while writing to them. My hope is that receiving actual mail will bring joy to the receivers as well.
-Keep on Living. My husband said this to me last night when I was having a difficult moment. Then we spent the next half hour deciding where to hang some paintings and pictures in our home. We have lived here since Thanksgiving and have not hung anything on the walls yet. Doing something normal like this eased the worry and helped me to keep on living. (Also, please note we talked about where to hang things and nothing has yet been hung up, so this is not a call for perfection!).
Whatever you are doing in this time, it is enough. Be kind to yourself and each other.
Loving God, We are living in strange and frightening times. We know we are not the first people to live in times like these. Calm our fears. Send us your peace. Inspire us to do good however that is possible. Nothing seems normal, God, and we need you to assure us that you are here and we are loved. Hear us when we call out to you. Amen.
Maybe this will be hanging on the wall by the time you read this post!
As the Season of Lent is coming closer to the end, we know what is coming, O God. Holy Week will soon be here. Normally that includes waving of palm branches, communion and washing of feet, and that Friday that is called good even as it breaks our hearts. We are feeling uncertain and sad not knowing what this Holy Week will be, Loving God. Slow us down from looking ahead and plant us right here and now. Give us the words that need to be prayed and if there are none, God, sit with us in holy silence. In this time and place, we are resting in your presence.
(Sit in silence for a time. How long you remain silent is up to you. Even a few moments can refocus you. I like to recommend for beginners of sitting in silence to sit until you feel uncomfortable and then sit awhile longer. Notice your breathing and be aware of any words or thoughts that come into your head. Thank God for them. Thank God for any people who enter your thoughts. And when it is the right time for you, end the prayer).
God of silence and beautiful noise, we are thankful for this time of prayer which has centered us in you today. Help us to remember and be renewed by this time with you and give us strength to face the day. Amen.
